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‘We had a third of the Earth to ourselves’: the band that’s spent four years touring the world by sea

The husband-wife duo Filastine and Nova and their ragtag crew have circled the globe twice on a boat which doubles as a stage – and a call for climate action

The Arka Kinari’s ragtag crew – usually numbering between five and seven people recruited online – double as sound and lighting engineers on top of their daily duties: welding, carpentry, medic, cooking. A 2010 study found that three-quarters of greenhouse gas emissions produced by the music industry came from live performances; in 2009 it was estimated that U2’s world tour had the equivalent carbon footprint of a return flight to Mars. Filastine and Nova eventually found a method to match their message: they sold their share in a house in Seattle and borrowed money to buy the Arka Kinari, a battered old schooner that they refitted in Rotterdam.

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